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Sam Leccia was a popular guy at last month’s IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans. That wasn’t surprising. He has an approachable personality, a sincere passion for cigar innovation, and a growing portfolio of tasty smokes—a portfolio that now includes Cain and a new maduro-wrapped version of his popular Nub series.

The concept for Nub was born of Leccia’s appreciation for the “dedication, passion, and manpower it takes to create a cigar.” It was during his time at Oliva, circa 2006, that he hatched the idea for “a high quality cigar that developed its optimum flavor extremely quickly.” He ultimately concluded that a short, stubby format provided for a cooler, tastier smoking experience.

So Leccia, a Pittsburgh native, left his position as a sales representative at the Oliva Cigar Company to found his aptly titled Nub brand. After getting his former employer on board (Leccia reportedly rolled the prototype himself), Nub launched as an Oliva product in early 2008 with three blends: Connecticut, Cameroon, and Habano.

Like the cigars in that original Nub lineup, the new Maduro features Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. It is wrapped in an oily and toothy Brazilian maduro leaf that’s marked with some hefty veins and spotted with a sandy discoloration.

Packed tightly with tobacco, the four inch by 60 ring gauge “460” clips to reveal a slightly stiff draw and some sweetness on the lips. That sweetness is misleading, however, because the initial taste is anything but sugary. It includes notes of spicy black pepper and bitter coffee beans.

The draw opens up and the flavor evens out around the quarter inch mark. Leather, peanuts, and cream are added to the mix. Compared to the heavy-handed outset, this development enables more nuance and balance, which renders the Nub Maduro more interesting and less abrasive.

The slower I puff this stubby stick—I spent over 60 minutes with each of the two samples I smoked for this review—the better it performs. The medium-strength, full-bodied taste stays on an even keel if the tobacco is cooked at the right temperature. Impatient cigar enthusiasts might find the Maduro 460 to smoke too coarse, hot, and sour.

If you take your time, though, this cigar turns out to be rich and fairly multifaceted. And you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better constructed stick that sells for $4.50-6. While some age will likely help round off the Nub Maduro 460’s edge, for now it earns three and a half stogies out of five.